This disclosure relates generally to radio-controlled mobile toys and, more specifically, to selecting an operating frequency in such toys.
A radio-controlled toy, such as a radio-controlled car, is generally operated by a transmitter that transmits radio signals to the radio-controlled car using a predefined frequency (e.g., a channel). Because the radio-controlled car needs to be able to receive the radio signals transmitted by the transmitter, both the transmitter and the radio-controlled car should be set to a common frequency (e.g., should use the same channel).
Current methods for setting the frequency of the transmitter and the radio-controlled car include the use of crystals or radio frequency (RF) modules, which typically have a predetermined frequency. Accordingly, in order to operate the radio-controlled car via another frequency, the crystals or RF modules in both the transmitter and radio-controlled car must be replaced with new ones of the desired frequency, which can be both time-consuming and expensive.
Therefore, what is needed is a transmitter having a channel selector for selecting an operating frequency of the transmitter and an associated radio-controlled toy.